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Increased ethinic diversity for UK museum and library staff

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IFACCA/Artshub, 02 August 2002, United Kingdom

Resource, the Council for Museums, Archives and Libraries, has recently announced the creation of new ethnic-minority traineeships, which are viewed as a step towards addressing the overwhelmingly 'white' profile of museum and gallery staff in the UK. The traineeships will allow four individuals of Asian, African-Caribbean or Chinese descent to undertake postgraduate courses in Museum Studies and gain work experience. Following this period of training, it is expected that they will be placed in a stronger position to apply for permanent jobs. Maurice Davies, Deputy Director of the UK Museums Association, which is managing the traineeships, has commented that the museum profession is overwhelmingly white, with too few museum staff from ethnic minorities. Davies notes that, as a result, many museums across the UK are failing to relate properly to their audiences, and are unable to take advantage of the skills and knowledge of a significant proportion of the population. The traineeships are funded by Resource and are being hosted by:

  • Bristol Musuems and Art Gallery in partnership with Exeter, Plymouth, Bournemouth and Poole Museum Services
  • Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry
  • Harris Museum and Art Gallery of Preston, in partnership with Manchester City Galleries and Lancashire County Museum Service
  • Wolverhampton Art Gallery Meanwhile, the University of North London, is calling for new recruits to its Quality Leaders’ Project, a short-course management development project aimed at black and minority ethnic professionals in the UK's library and information sector. Funded by Resource, the program aims to address the dual challenges of providing best practice and equal employment opportunities for public library and information workers from ethnic and minority communities. Rajiv Anand, Resource's Cultural Diversity Development Officer, has noted that the project 'will provide the public libraries' domain with innovative ways for black and ethnic... staff to increase their skills through development and mentoring, enabling them to further develop their careers.'

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